Meteors push Falcons to brink of elimination
Sam Tonelli continues to come up big for the Fort Erie Meteors.
The speedy forward scored the winning goal on a breakaway halfway through the third period as the Meteors rallied to defeat the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons 3-2 before a season high crowd of 1,623 fans Friday at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
The Meteors now lead the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League best-of-seven semifinal playoff series 3-1 and can advance to the final for the first time since the 1990-91 season with a win at home Saturday night.
Tonelli had a clear breakaway from the neutral zone and beat St. Catharines goaltender Hayden Jeffrey with shot through the legs.
“There’s a lot going through my mind, mostly don’t miss this,” Tonelli said. “I was thinking the last breakaway I had, I tried going backhand and it didn’t really work so I might as well try my bread and butter through the five-hole and then I saw it hit the back of the net and celebrated.”
Tonelli’s goal, his fourth of the post-season, broke a 2-2 tie and came just over three minutes after Baeddan Pollett tied the game with a shot from inside the point.
“It’s tough being down 2-1 in the third, especially when it’s not in your barn, but we knew if we battled hard, put our heads down and got to work, things would end up going our way and they did,” Tonelli said.
The Falcons led 1-0 after one on a goal by Zach Mambella. The Meteors tied the game when Chaka-Benjamin Ntumba-Muntu netted his first of the playoffs before Treyson Dewar gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead late in the period on a five-on-three power play.
Fort Erie general manager/coach Nik Passero said there was no anxiety in the dressing room despite heading into the third down a goal.
“What’s there to panic for? We took two dumb penalties on one shift and we’re down five-on-three so its tough. You just get back on the horse,” Passero said.
Passero loved his team’s effort.
“It was nice to score three even strength goals to add to the seven we already had in the series,” he said. “We’re a good team and we knew they weren’t going to die. They’re a team that’s won before, a staff that’s won before, and in front of their home crowd, we knew what we were getting ourselves into.
“It took 60 full minutes by a great group but we’re battled tested. I’ve love our group.”
The Falcons, who were without suspended snipers Caleb Thompson and Tyler Hunt, turned in a gutsy, disciplined effort.
“They brought an effort, they worked their asses off,” Falcons general manager/coach Tyler Bielby said. “We were a shot away. That’s a good playoff game. Fans, coaches, players — we all knew it was going to be a series and this is the kind of game everyone projected. We had a couple of mistakes but we worked hard and were disciplined tonight which is our biggest asset. If we play disciplined, we have a chance to win every night.”
Bielby said the Falcons didn’t vary their game plan due to the suspensions.
“We respect every single player in these four walls now, whether it’s an AP player, or a player that’s been here three years or a year. There’s nobody on our roster that we’re not ready to go to work with.”
The Falcons face elimination heading into enemy territory Saturday night and will have Thompson and defenceman Luke Gualtieri back in the lineup.
“Short-term memory. We’re right back on the big ice tomorrow night,” Bielby said.
Passero would love nothing more than to end the series on home ice.
“You look at it like that. Our fans deserve it. They’ve been coming out for months for this group and they deserve it and we have to go and get it done,” he said.
Falcon facts: Luke Gualtieri (suspended), Caleb Thompson (suspended), Tyler Hunt (suspended), Tyler Rowland, Jordan Marconi, Calvin Petrovsky and Henry Attard were scratched for the Falcons . . . Caleb Bidgood, Ryan Robillard, Zach Mizzi (suspended) and Owen Penney (suspended) did not dress for the Meteors . . . Caledonia leads Hamilton 3-1 in the other semifinal. Game 5 is Saturday in Caledonia.
STATS PACK
Meteors 3 Falcons 2
Fort Erie forward Sam Tonelli.
St. Catharines Falcons: Treyson Dewar (4); Zach Mambella (2).
Fort Erie Meteors: Sam Tonelli (4); Chaka-Benjamin Ntumba-Muntu (1); Baeddan Pollett (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Charlie Burns (27), by Fort Erie on Hayden Jeffery (30); Power plays: St. Catharines 1/4, Fort Erie 0/3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 6; Fort Erie 8.
Attendance: 1,623.
Up next: The Falcons head to Fort Erie Saturday at 7 p.m. for Game 5. Game 6, if necessary, is Monday in St. Catharines at 7 p.m.
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